Related papers: The Parker Instability in a Thick Galactic Gaseous…
We study drag-driven instability in a protoplanetary disc consisting of a layer of single-sized dust particles which are coupled to the magnetized gas aerodynamically and the particle-to-gas feedback is included. We find a dispersion…
Based on an axisymmetric galactic disk model, we estimate the equilibrium gas pressure P/k in the disk plane as a function of the galactocentric distance R for several galaxies (MW, M33, M51, M81, M100, M101, M106, and the SMC). For this…
In earlier work we identified a global, non-axisymmetric instability associated with the presence of an extreme in the radial profile of the key function ${\cal L}(r) \equiv (\Sigma \Omega/\kappa^2) S^{2/\Gamma}$ in a thin, inviscid,…
A sufficient condition for maser instability in a weakly magnetized relativistic plasma with an isotropic particle distribution function is given. The maser growth rates and polarizations are computed starting from the exact dielectric…
A typical galactic disc has a finite thickness and in addition to stars it also contains a finite amount of interstellar gas. Here, we investigate the physical impact of the finite thickness of a galactic disc on the disc stability against…
Astrophysical discs which are sufficiently massive and cool are linearly unstable to the formation of axisymmetric structures. In practice, linearly stable discs of surface density slightly below the threshold needed for this instability…
We explore the linear stability of astrophysical discs exhibiting vertical shear, which arises when there is a radial variation in the temperature or entropy. Such discs are subject to a "vertical-shear instability", which recent nonlinear…
Gravitational instabilities play an important role in galaxy evolution and in shaping the interstellar medium (ISM). The ISM is observed to be highly turbulent, meaning that observables like the gas surface density and velocity dispersion…
The discovery of over 400 extrasolar planets allows us to statistically test our understanding of formation and dynamics of planetary systems via numerical simulations. Traditional N-body simulations of multiple-planet systems without gas…
In this paper, we analyze the linear stability of a stellar accretion disk, having a stratified morphology. The study is performed in the framework of ideal magneto-hydrodynamics and therefore it results in a characterization of the linear…
We use the Fokker-Planck equation and model the dispersive dynamics of solid particles in annular protoplanetary disks whose gas component is more massive than the particle phase. We model particle--gas interactions as hard sphere…
The stability of a rotating fluid disk to the formation of spiral arms is studied in the tightwinding approximation in the linear regime. The dispersion relation for spirals that was derived by Bertin et al. is shown to contain a new,…
Magnetic buoyancy (MBI) and Parker instabilities are strong, generic instabilities expected to occur in most astrophysical systems with sufficiently strong magnetic fields. In galactic and accretion discs, large-scale magnetic fields are…
Disk instability is an attractive yet controversial means for the rapid formation of giant planets in our solar system and elsewhere. Recent concerns regarding the first adiabatic exponent of molecular hydrogen gas are addressed and shown…
In order to investigate mass transport and planet formation by gravitational instabilities (GIs), we have extended our 3-D hydrodynamic simulations of protoplanetary disks from a previous paper. Our goal is to determine the asymptotic…
Observations of narrow radio-emitting filaments near the Galactic center have been interpreted in previous studies as evidence of a pervasive vertical (i.e. perpendicular to the Galactic plane) milliGauss magnetic field in the central 150…
We report the finding of a linear, non-axisymmetric, global instability in gas discs around stars, which may be relevant to other astrophysical discs. It takes the form of an $m=1$ mode that grows in the disc density distribution while the…
We use a series of idealized, numerical SPH simulations to study the formation and evolution of galactic, gas-rich disks forming from gas infall within dark matter halos. The temperature and density structure of the gas is varied in order…
We carry out a large set of very high resolution, three dimensional smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) simulations describing the evolution of gravitationally unstable gaseous protoplanetary disks. We consider a broad range of initial…
In dilute astrophysical plasmas, the collisional mean free path of a particle can exceed its Larmor radius. Under these conditions, the thermal conductivity and viscosity of the plasma can be dramatically altered. This alteration allows…